John 3:1-8
You Must Be Born Again
You Must Be Born From Above
You Must be Born of the Water
You Must be Born of the Spirit
You Must Be Born Again
You Must Be Born From Above
You Must be Born of the Water
You Must be Born of the Spirit
A Detailed Verse by Verse Commentary
Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Jesus to Nicodemus
Nicodemus to Jesus
John 3:1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.
Nicodemus to Jesus: 3:2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Jesus to Nicodemus: 3:3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
Nicodemus to Jesus: 3:4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus to Nicodemus: 3:5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 3:7 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
Jesus Reads Nicodemus Confusion: 3:7 You should not be surprised at my saying…
Jesus Speaks Very Direct Nicodemus: …“You must be born again.”
Jesus Further Explains 3:8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So, it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus to Jesus: 3:9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
Jesus Speaks the Second Time Very Direct Nicodemus: 3:10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?
Jesus Speaks to Nicodemus Because He Does Not Believe: 3:11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
How Can These Things Be?
After Jesus described to Nicodemus the necessity of being “born again” (3:3) of the “water and the Spirit” (3:5). Nicodemus asked him, “How can this be?” (3:9) In answer, Jesus gave to this high official a mild reproof.
Jesus said to him, “Are you a teacher in Israel? To this question, Nicodemus would affirm as true. Jesus continued, “do you not understand these things?” (3:10). With such a question, Nicodemus was put to the test, by a greater Rabbi, as he was often called.
So, we ask, what was known from the Old Testament Scriptures, of the “New Birth” and to be “Born of the water and the Spirit” as Jesus described to Nicodemus (John 3:3-8)?
1st Old Testament Witness to being Born Again, by the Holy Spirit.
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation. And uphold me by Your generous Spirit” Ps 51:10-12 NKJV
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” Ps 51:12
David’s prayer for renewal, to be rebuilt anew by the Holy Spirit carries the idea of being born again, free from his past mistakes. Made possible through the influence of the Holy Spirit, which carries joy in the Lord.
2nd Old Testament Witness to being Born Again, of the Spirit.
“All creatures look to you, to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up. When you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face, they are terrified. When you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.” Ps 104:27-30
The symbol of death is taking “away their breath”, and being buried in the ground as “dust”. Then God sends his Spirit and creates them anew. Next follows a changed life, after coming from the dust of the ground, and by the Spirit renewed. Then they live a new life, born into a life of praise and song, pleasing God.
This is a good illustration of being born again. From a life of sin, one is renewed to a life of praise, wanting to please God. What is the evidence that we have been born again. “We make it our goal to please Him…” (2 Cor 5:9).
“I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.” Ps 104:33-34
Nature gives us a glimpse of the new birth. Israel had monthly New Moon celebrations (Num 10:10). There was the waning moon, the half-moon, the new moon, and full moon. In the lunar cycle, there is a monthly rebirth or renewal.
John 3:3 To a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus: “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are Born Again [from above]…born of the Spirit (3:8) NIV
3:3 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. NKJV
3:3 Jesus replied, "I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God." NET Bible
This new birth experience is pre-requisite, to be able to participate in the joy of the redeemed, having eternal life.
“No one can see the kingdom of God” (3:3) NIV
“No one can enter the kingdom of God” (3:5) NIV
“He cannot see the kingdom of God” (3:3) NKJV
“He cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (3:5) NKJV
Brief Introduction
Jesus says that only the Born Again can see God’s kingdom. What a glorious kingdom it will be, for “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt 13:43). Seeing and entering, means to be present for eternity in God’s coming kingdom.
In the New Birth, “the eyes of your heart are enlightened” (Eph 1:18) and we become “alive” in Christ (Eph 2:5). Where we were once “dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following it desires and thoughts” (Eph 2:1,2).
We Always Need More Understanding About the Ministry of the Spirit
Every person who teaches about the New Birth there will always be room to grow in understanding. There will always be more to discover. We don’t think it is possible to write, preach or to teach about the ministry of the Spirit and conclude that we have a complete understanding. As the Spirit comes from the Father God (John 15:26), it carries mysteries that will leave us always in further need of understanding. In need of more prayer, with deep humility and earnest hearts.
We feel this study of the Spirit, will always be inadequate. Will always will be needed to be re-written, to further explain or to correct a misunderstanding in the study of the Spirit. Who has the mind of God as Paul says: “no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:11).
A Universal – All time —Testing Truth
“Very truly I tell you a solemn truth. No one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again” (3:3). This is the first doctrine taught by Jesus in the Book of John, coming sometime after the Wedding of “Cana of Galilee” (John 2:1). It is a universal and global testing truth. For all Christians of various faiths throughout the Christian era, till the return of Christ. This is an absolute.
Is it possible to know about the Bible and not be born again? Yes, this is what Jesus was telling Nicodemus, an esteemed teacher in the temple, claiming he knew the Torah Without being born again, no amount of Biblical knowledge, education, prophetic interpretation, or keeping of the Law will gain for them a welcome into the kingdom of heaven.
Peter says that we have been “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood” (1 Pet 1:2). The work of the New Birth, done in us and for us, is through the ministry of the Spirit, for we are “sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (Rom 15:16).
Paul puts it this way, “you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:11).
Born From Above, Not On Earth, but Coming from God
Born Again: The Greek word is anothen, which means not only again but also “from above.” This brings out the idea that the source and origin of our “new birth” is from heaven. It does not come from our human will power, or our power of choice or from something that we have done to earn it. Instead, it comes to us by God’s power and God’s will, on account of faith that He gave to us.
“To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children “born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12, 13).
In John’s first letter he explains that to be born again is only made possible by God the Father.
He uses the expression “born of God” seven times in his letter and once “born of Him.
The Spirit Always Comes from Above
When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist said, “At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him” (Matt 3:16; Lk 3:22). A one-time event never witnessed before or since that day.
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting” (Act 2:1,2). They received the Spirit because they had been present with Jesus, listening to his words and teachings. They had already had an experience with the Spirit when Jesus “breathed on them and said, “’Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:22).
The Spirit comes from heaven, not at our command, but at the will of God.
Influence of Spirit Filled Believers
Paul describes the influence of the Spirit: “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words” (1 Cor 2:13). Words that reflect the fruit of the Spirit.
The fruit of the Spirit is:
love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control;
Against such things there is no law [to condemn their practice].
Gal 5:22-23 NAS
We are most likely to receive the Spirit when someone around us is Spirit filled, meaning they love the Lord Jesus Christ, with humility, joy and love. Likewise, we will be influenced by the Spirit when someone teaching us is not led by the Spirit instead by “the spirit of falsehood” (1 John 4:6).
The Spirit Comes to us in Unexpected Ways and Places
We can receive the Spirit in the most unexpected ways, in places where you did not plan for this to happen. You could be all alone. You could be almost anywhere.
Most often, when we receive the Spirit, it is an unforgettable encounter that is accompanied by prayers, crying, and tears; with confession accompanied with much love and praise for God. With some it starts when they are young; something happens that is etched in their minds giving them an awareness, an “anointing” (1 John 2:20), that God loves them and they love God.
All the above is true, yet the Spirit must be renewed and refreshed by prayer, learning how the Spirit speaks to them, grounding themselves in Scriptures, especially the New Testament. A lack of Scriptures will lead to a hemorrhage of the Spirit in their lives. Our advice is to not substitute religious books, in the place of verse-by-verse Scripture study, always accompanied by much and more prayer. The Spirit is the true expositor of the Word.
Repeat Paul’s prayer: “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (Eph 1:17).
Those Born Again are Given a New Life
Born Again, Born from Above: Nicodemus did not understand what Jesus was saying. He thought Jesus was saying something impossible. He asked, how could one “enter a second time into their mother’s womb” (3:4), to Nicodemus, Jesus was not making any sense.
Jesus was not talking about a rebirth through our mothers, instead He was talking about the presence of the Spirit that comes and “lives [dwells, abides] with you and will be in you” (John 14:17).
Paul Describes the Spirit Who Lives In You
Paul uses a different the Greek word (ἐνοικέω), to describe the presence of the Spirit in our lives, meaning “to dwell in, to inhabit, to be at home.”
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives [enoikeó] in you” (Rom 8:11).
“Keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells [enoikeó] in us” (2 Tim 1:14)
“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3:16)
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Cor 6:19).
“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.” (2 Cor 1:21-22).
“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives [dwells] in you” (Rom 8:9).
“It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Phil 2:13).
“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27).
John Teaches us About the Ministry of the Spirit
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
“This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit” (1 John 4:13).
“As for you, the [Spirit] anointing you received from Him [Christ] remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him” (1 John 2:27).
The Spirit Enables us to Know God and His Son Personally
Jesus said, “But you Know him for he lives [abides] with you and will be in you” (John 14:17)., was a common expression John used in his first letter.
“We know that we have come to know him…” (1 John 2:3)
“This is how we know we are in him… (1 John 2:5)
“But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him…” (1 John 3:2)
“This is how we know who the children of God…” (1 John 3:10)
“We know that we have passed from death to life…” (1 John 3:14)
“This is how we know what love is…” (1 John 3:16)
“This is how we know that we belong to the truth…” (1 John 3:19)
“If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts” (1 John 3:20)
“We know it by the Spirit he gave us…” (1 John 3:24)
“This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit…” (1 John 4:13)
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love…” (1 John 4:16)
“This is how we know that we love the children of God…” (1 John 5:2)
“And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:15)
Paul reminded the early church members, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3:16).
This is from inside a believer, a new presence moves into our lives. When the “apostles” were “arrested” and thrown into the “public jail,” and at night “an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail.” He told them to go to a public place, and “stand in the temple courts” when many people are present to “tell the people all about this new life” (Acts 5:18-20). “Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Rom 6:4).
What Blessings Does the Spirit Bring Into Our "New life"?
“Spirit of truth” (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13), convicting us of the truth of the Gospel.
“Spirit of wisdom and revelation” (Eph 1:17), to know the ways of wisdom for our life.
“Spirit of grace” (Heb 10:29), making God’s grace known to us.
“Spirit of Christ” (Rom 8:9), bringing an awareness of Christ in our lives.
“Spirit of his Son into our hearts” (Gal 4:6), God giving us love from the presence of Jesus.
“Spirit of God” (Rom 8:14), bringing to us the promise and assurances of our Father.
“Power of the Spirit of God” (Rom 15:19), giving us power from above for service and growth.
“Spirit of the living God” (2 Cor 3:3), giving to us a living presence, not from this world.
“Spirit of faith” (2 Cor 4:13), giving us a warm, certain, and unshakable faith.
“Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” (1 Pet 4:14), God gives us the Spirit as His personal glory.
When we first come to Christ, it is often an event that is unforgettable in our lives; many can remember the day or the moment, they came under the influence of the Spirit. Giving them a life changing experience, they know that have been “made alive in the Spirit” (1 Pet 3:18).
The New Birth Brings a New Set of Clothes
“Put off your old self [person]” and “put on the new self [person]” (Eph 4:24). We are to “take off your old self with its practices and put on the new self that is being renewed in knowledge and image of its creator” (Col 3:9,10). The idea of is that we are being renewed and made new or Born Again.
We are to be recreated into the image of our creator, this is a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17), a “new life” (Rom 6:4). Before being born of the Spirit (3:8), we are like children of Adam and Eve. Now, after being born of the Spirit, we become a distinctly a “new creation”—the "children of God” (John 1:12). This can only be done through “the gospel, by the power of God” (2 Tim 1:8). “So that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom 15:13). The power of God and the power of the Spirit are closely related; God’s power is sent to dwell in us through “His Spirit” (Rom 8:11).
In the parable of the wedding feast between the King and his son, there was one requirement that all guests must wear the free wedding garments, received at the door. A symbol of being made new by being “born of the Spirit”.
“But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (Matt 22:11-13).
Being “born of the Spirit” (John 3:8), we are recreated to become “God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved” (Col 3:12). We are to be “made new in the attitude of your minds” and to put on the new self [new person], created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph 4:23,24).
The emphasis we need to understand is that the task of the Spirit is nothing less than re-creation. This is what it means to be Born Again.
Ten New Garments for Born Again
Through being Born of the Spirit, the Spirit of God Himself, we are able to put on new clothes with 10 new habits:
(1) compassion, (2) kindness, (3) humility,
(4) gentleness and (5) patience.
(6) Bear with each other and
(7) forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
(8) And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
(9) Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
since as members of one body you were called to peace.
(10) And be thankful”
Col 3:12-15
The Born Again Will not Want to Practice Old Habits
Colossians lists ten things we are to remove: “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs [your body] to your earthly nature:
(1) sexual immorality, (2) impurity, (3) lust,
(4) evil desires and (5) greed, which is idolatry.
Because of these, the wrath of God is coming, coming on those who are disobedient.
You used to walk in these ways; in the life you once lived.
But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these:
(6) anger, (7) rage, (8) malice, (9) slander, and
(10) filthy language from your lips”
Col 3:5-8
Through being born of the Spirit, through the Spirit of God Himself we are enabled to strip off the old garments we have inherited from Adam, our old habits. Paul says we are to “put [them] to death” (Col 3:5) and “rid yourself” (Col 3:8) of them. To “put to death” is an active verb.
Think of it as present and future intensive. This is stronger than “Thou shalt not.” These are stubborn weaknesses of our inherited nature we are to put off, to be laid aside, to be remove from our lives, and to be renounced. They are to be lifted up to God, who takes them away. It implies a deliberate action of discarding something that is inappropriate. Only through the ministry of the Spirit is this possible at all.
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace” (Rom 8:5,6)
Being Born Again: Entrance in the Kingdom of Heaven
“If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here” (2 Cor 5:17). Receiving the Spirit is entrance into the kingdom of heaven whereby “you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30)
In Summary
In summary the New Birth, is the work of God through “His Spirit” (1 Cor 2:12), that changes the whole direction of our inner thoughts and desires. “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires” our condition before we were Born of the Spirit, “but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (Rom 8:5).
“In the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time” (Titus 1:2). This is way beyond, from eons of time, long ago. God planned to reveal His love to you through the Spirit. Imagine the excitement of God, when the time came, when He was able to do just what he promised, before time was counted, God promised to Himself he would do; to give you a “new birth into a living hope” (1 Pet 1:3), through His Spirit. “To give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” (Rom 8:11).
There is great joy and bursting hope when you have been born again. Like that of a mother who experiences the birth of her first newborn child.
John 3:4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 3:5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. NIV
3:4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 3:5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. NKJV
“No one can see the kingdom of God” (3:3)
“No one can enter the kingdom of God” (3:5) NIV
“He cannot see the kingdom of God” (3:3)
“He cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (3:5) NKJV
Twice Repeated Lesson an Absolutely Essential Gospel Teaching
Jesus repeats the necessity of the New Birth twice for emphasis. This makes the rebirth experience absolutely essential. All Bible teachers should dwell on this theme frequently. What Jesus repeats twice carries special significance. All church congregations should be very familiar with these truths.
Yet, every teacher should acknowledge that by study and scholarship alone, they cannot understand the New Birth experience, unless it is given to them from above, it cannot ever be understood. What Jesus told the Jews, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world” (John 8:23), is the reason why they could not see Jesus as the Son of God, and the same reason applies to us until we are Born Again.
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God… no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received… is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us…The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit…But we have the mind of Christ [when Born Again]” (1 Cor 2:10-16).
We understand the New Birth only by experience. Only because it is given to us by the Spirit, who makes it plain for us. Who applies it to our lives.
The Spirit does not leave us without a witness to his presence. This is chiefly seen by more love for God in our hearts and more love for others in response. It is also seen by increased humility and honesty. By a “clear conscience toward God” (1 Pet 3:21) and by an ever-widening deeper confession of sin.
Knowing Bible stories and history does not save, nor does keeping God’s commandments. Only by being Born Again of the Spirit are we brought into the family of God, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (Rom 8:14).
This is a sobering reality that, “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (1 Cor 2:14). Even the lesson Jesus is teaching us in the third chapter of John can only be understood because the “eyes of your heart may be enlightened” (Eph 1:18).
Many are Taught by God these Truths
Once while visiting in a hospital, we were explaining to a frail senior woman who had suffered a minor stroke, the joy of the New Birth. She responded that she knew about being born again. She explained it in a way that we had never heard before. We intended to share something new with her, because she had been a believer for many years. Yet she shared an understanding of the New Birth that we had failed to connect, even though we had spent hours studying and praying over these passages.
She explained it in one short sentence, and we were stunned by the clarity and depth of her understanding! She knew this because God had revealed it to her a long time ago. We have used her insight in the following discussion.
Born of the Water—Newness of Life
First: Water is illustrated by childbirth. If we are born again, we will show child-like trust and humility. We will want to be “poor in Spirit” (Matt 5:3). For we know that Jesus made child-like humility a testing truth: “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted,” another word for being born again, “and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 18:3 NKJV). Only the Spirit can do this for us.
Second: Water is illustrated by baptism: “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:4). This new life, this new style of living, is something only the Spirit can provide.
It was the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” (Rom 8:11). As we are symbolically buried under the water of baptism, then come up out the water, this is an illustration of re-birth and the receiving of the Spirit.
Born of Water and the Spirit
Water and Spirit—they go together. It is not just going through the motion of being baptized. It is a baptism of and by the Spirit. Water is the symbol of what the Spirit does for us. It is the experience of being washed, having our stains and sins washed away and left in the water. Paul writes about this experience, “you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:11)
Just physical baptism, without the Spirit. There is no new birth.
In the purest sense, the death and resurrection of Jesus is the very center of the gospel. Baptism is the outward ceremony that directs our minds to the death and resurrection of Jesus.
When we are under the water in baptism, in symbol we wish to “die to sin” (Rom 6:2).
Which is accompanied by confession and repentance. After confession, now we want them left in the grave forever, we don’t want to repeat them. We don’t want to love them or enjoy them as before. As Jesus took our sins upon him on the cross and paid the penalty for our transgression. He carried them to the grave and left them in the tomb, then rose to a new life.
“Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Col 2:12). The expressions “raised” and “working of God” are a reference to the New Birth. It is God’s work in and for us, by His Spirit, that we are raised from spiritual death and darkness “according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).
Paul describes water baptism symbolically, we are “baptized into Christ Jesus” and “baptized into his death” (Rom 6:3). While under the water in baptism, through the power to the glory of God we are raised “so that we my live a new life” (Rom 6:4). The record of our sin has been removed.
“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa 53:4-6
In the Beginning—The Spirit of God was First on Scene.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit [ruwach] of God was hovering over the water” (Gen 1:1,2). The Hebrew word for Spirit ruwach means “Spirit, wind, breath.” The next use in Genesis the Spirit of God is called “my Spirit” (Gen 6:3).
Paul calls the Spirit “the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30). The Spirit and God the Father are intimately connected, “because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Rom 8:27). The Spirit always knows the will of God and looks to lead us into His will.
Before the creation of our earth, “the Spirit of God” (Gen 1:2) was present. In the New Testament, we understand the Spirit of God to be the Holy Spirit. Paul writing to the Roman believers assured them that they are “not in the realm of the flesh [fallen nature from Adam] but are in the realm of the Spirit [Born of the Spirit], if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you” (Rom 8:9).
Paul, further says, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (Rom 8:14). Jesus, “full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Lk 4:1).
Born Again men and women, who are born of the Spirit, will know it to be true by their experience. Through prayer, they will know what it means to be personally led into the will of God. Which is our daily privilege. This knowledge of God’s will and direction for our lives is from “the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38), because the Spirit is a true witness of Christ and the Father.
Yes, it is the greatest of gifts, from God our Father, that we have done nothing to deserve.
At the Creation of Man and Woman, the Spirit was Present
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed [neshamah] into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Gen 2:7). The Hebrew word for breathed is neshamah: meaning “Breath, spirit and soul”. Job describes the act of creation as “The Spirit [ruach] of God has made me; the breath [neshamah] of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4). “Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit [ruach] from me.” (Ps 51:11).
Think for a moment of creation of man, and the presence of the Spirit of God. God takes the dust of the earth and outlines man. He breathed into the dry dust into the face of the man, His Spirit. The Spirit instantly moves into this dry dust and gives heart, muscles, brain, blood, circulation, an immune system, hands, and feet, all at once. Adam sits up and stands up and there is a living being.
The New Birth by the Spirit of God, is a Reenactment of Creation
By being Born Again, the Spirit God starts a brand-new creation on earth. Not in plants and animals, but inside the lives of those in Christ. As in the first creation when God created the world. “darkness” (Gen 1:2) existed before we were Born Again; a new light, and a new life starts after we are Born Again of the Spirit. We are given new reasons to live, new outlooks on the future, and new power from the Spirit. This is realized as we “make it our goal to please Him” (2 Cor 5:9). As we learn “to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength” (Mk 12:33).
All this change takes place by being “born by the power of the Spirit” (Gal 4:29). We become, we possess, we have, we experience a “new life” (Acts 5:20). In short, we are God’s “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17).
Just as Adam and Eve began their new life, with no past. So likewise, our past reckless dishonorable life, and careless behavior is now in the past. We start a new day, every day. By the Spirit that was breathed into us by God our only Father. For the Holy Spirit is called “God’s Spirit” (1 Cor 3:16). Also, “the Spirit of God” (Matt 3:16) and “the Spirit who is from God” (1 Cor 2:12).
The Song by Emily Davenport, encapsulates the concept of being Born Again by the Breath of God, the Holy Spirit. It is by the new breath, from the Spirit’s presence, the breath of God, in our lungs, that we pour out our praise. And what a beautiful sound it is.
You give life. You are love.
You bring light to the darkness.
You give hope. You restore
Every restore what is broken
And great are You Lord
It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
Written by Emily Davenport Oct 21, 2015
What are the Benefits of Being Re-born of the Spirit
When Adam was created, given life, by the breath or “Spirit of God” (Job 33:4). Adam moved from one state of non-existence, ordinary dry dust that could easily fly away and disappear. Into becoming a living being, with heart, muscles, eyes, mind, and conscience with perfect health. In a similar way, God sends His Spirit, the Holy Spirit into our lives so that we might “be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Rom 8:29).
Everyone “born of God” (1 John 3:9) is truly firstborn.
What Are the Benefits of Being Born of God?
We become God’s temple where He dwells by His Spirit (1 Cor 3:16)
We learn to pray in the Holy Spirit (Eph 6:18)
We are taught to walk in the Spirit (Gal 5:16)
The Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me” (John 15:26).
We are privileged to be guided by the Spirit (John 16:13)
We are personally taught by the Spirit (John 14:26)
The Spirit is to “abide or live” with us and to be “in” us (John 14:17)
We are to be strengthened in our inner being by the Spirit (Eph 3:16)
We are to keep in step with the Spirit (Gal 5:25)
We must not quench the Spirit’s fire (1 Thess 5:19)
True worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth (John 4:23)
We are to live by the Spirit (Gal 5:25)
When Spirit filled, we learn to “love in the Spirit” or love from the Spirit (Col 1:8)
We are to serve God in the Spirit (Phil 3:3)
We are sanctified by the work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ (1 Pet 1:2)
Praise be to the God and Father, in his great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ into an inheritance that can never perish (1 Pet 1:3)
We are to live according to God in the Spirit (1 Pet 4:6)
We are to be made alive in the Spirit (1 Pet 3:18).
We are to be circumcised of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code (Rom 2:29)
We are to have fellowship in the Spirit (Phil 2:1)
We are to be sealed with the Spirit, a sign of God’s ownership of us (2 Cor 1:21-22)
We are to receive the anointing of the Spirit (1 John 2:20,27)
We are to be born, given a new birth, by the power of the Spirit (Gal 4:29)
We are to be a dwelling where God lives by his Spirit…a holy temple to the Lord (Eph 2:21,22)
We are given access to the Father through the Spirit (Eph 2:18)
We are to praise God in the Spirit (1 Cor 14:16)
We are to serve God by his Spirit (Phil 3:3)
We are to sing songs from the Spirit singing to God (Col 3:16)
The Spirit God gives us is power, love and self-discipline. (2 Tim 1:7)
We are to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, with all the wisdom & understanding that the Spirit gives (Col 1:9)
This is how we know that He [God] lives in us: we know it by the Spirit He gave us. (1 John 3:24)
“No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. This is how we know that we live in him [in His love]: He has given us His Spirit. (1 John 4:12,13)
New Earth at Creation Week—Compared to—New Birth from the Spirit of God
We, by birth, belong to the line of Adam, from which all humanity has received our fallen nature. A nature that does not know God or want to know His will. As Scriptures testify about us “There is no one righteous, not even one…there is no one who seeks God” (Rom 3:10,11).
David confessed sin’s all-pervasive character, Surely, I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Thus, David pleads with God, “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (Ps 51:5,7).
Now, through faith in Jesus, God sends His Holy Spirit to dwell in us, with us, moving us, and transferring us, out of the old line of Adam and setting us free into the new line of Christ. “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17). Co-heirs tell us that we are not just adopted on paper but have been included with Christ as family with the “Son who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation (Col 1:15).
This is very humbling and unbelievable that by faith, through the Spirit, we have destiny that we in no possible way, have any right to be and “heir of God.”
This is a description of being “born of the Spirit.” One of the benefits of being Born of God is that you are set free. We “are justified freely by his grace” (Rom 3:24).
“Through Christ Jesus the law [force/power] of the Spirit who gives life [New Birth] has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Rom 8:2). From the control of our fallen nature, some aspects fall away all at once. Other habits of our old nature lose their controlling influence with prayer, faith, hope and submission to Scriptures. It is like a child’s strength increases from the first step into adulthood.
The process of being Born Again is a reenactment of the creation account. Paul says that we are God’s, “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph 2:10). Born of the Spirit believers become part of the “Kingdom of God” (John 3:3), becoming a new person where “we serve in the new way of the Spirit” (Rom 7:6), with “citizenship in heaven” (Phil 3:20). “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God” (2 Cor 5:17,18).
Just as Adam and Eve had nothing to do with their creation, being brought to life from the dust of the ground. This is the only way a believer can find a new life. This is not something they do; it is what God will do for them. It is through the hands of God, touching our lives, that we become “His workmanship.” We are “raised up with Christ and seated in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:6). Meaning that, new influences that come from the Spirit start to awaken us.
“He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears. I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away.” Isa 50:4,5
As the result, we begin to naturally love God, love Scriptures about God, love to pray, and we seek for places to pray for longer periods of time. Our hearts are moved by spiritual music, and we seek after spiritual things that we never did before. We love God more and know that we love Him. Now we have a desire to “do the will of God” (John 7:17) from within.
Every day, we look to God for direction and wisdom to honor Him in everything we do. We are grieved to see others humiliated or harmed in any way. We pray about almost everything. We are thankful for everything and look for things to thank God for his undeserved blessings.
Our recognition of evil becomes sharper. Our confessions of past sins are quickly related to God. We even tell God about the sins that we wanted to do, we were tempted to carry out, but did not and could not do, in prayer with thankfulness. Because we know that we have been “sprinkled with His Blood” (1 Pet 1:2), whereby there is forgiveness of sins, at the foot of the cross.
Adopted into a New Line of Christ, the Son of God
We are transferred from the line of Adam’s inheritance into a new line of Christ, the Son of God with his inheritance and power. We are adopted into the family of God, through faith in Christ our Savior, and given the Holy Spirit from God to manifest our new value as we have become, really truly, like Children of God.
We are “transformed into His [God’s] image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18). Just like Adam was made in the “image of God” (Gen 1:27), we are “conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom 8:29).
When we have experienced being “born of the Spirit” (John 3:6). We are picked out of our old life inheritance we were born into. That is our former person, of inherited traits, tendencies, weaknesses and proclivities to love selfishness. We are moved into a new line of the Second Adam, Christ Jesus. His family heritage becomes, by the Spirit, our heritage, a new awareness enters our conscience.
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned… But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man [Adam], how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man [Adam], death reigned through that one man [Adam], how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” (Rom 5:12,15-18)
God adopts us into a new line belonging to the Father God through faith we are moved to be “in Christ” where we become “a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). This only becomes a reality when we, by the blood of Christ have our sins washed away, this is what is meant when Jesus said we must be “born of the water” (John 3:5). Under the water we leave the old habits of our heritage and when rising out of the water we take on new habits.
The baptism ceremony cannot do this for us, it is just a symbol, only the Spirit can carry out this great change in our lives. We have a new focus, a new ID, and a new path we travel down in life.
Before we were re-created, we “worship(ed) the beast and its image” (Rev 14:9), the “beast, for it is the number of a man” (Rev 13:18). The “number of a man” represents humanity without a changed life. It is called “the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (Eph 4:22).
Those who worship the “Beast” have no understanding of the ministry of the Spirit, for they are focused on themselves. The “beast” is their leaders.
Now that we are adopted into the family line of Christ, we are transformed by God’s Spirit. We have “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph 4:24).
Adoption Brings New Powers, not From Ourselves, but From the Spirit
Those who are adopted by God have new resources, new powers. Because “the law of the Spirit [authority] who gives life has set you free from the law [power] of sin and death” (Rom 8:2). Thus, through the Spirit’s authority, we can “put to death…whatever belongs to your earthly nature” (Col 3:5).
The expression “put to death” is an active verb. Think of it as present and future intensive. This is stronger than “Thou shalt not.” These are stubborn weaknesses of our inherited nature, so they don’t respond well to an order to not do something. They boil out from our inbred or cultivated family traits that are rebellious or indifferent to God’s will. They are careless in how they hurt others, putting them down in shameful ways. It is a fact that old habits will boil out of our inherited sinful natures, which love to sin.
When tempted, or when we have fallen into a trap where our old nature rises up to defend ourselves with anger. We cry our In prayer to God, with confession saying passionately, “Help us, O God of our salvation, For the glory of Your name; And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, For Your name’s sake!” (Ps 79:9).
God comes to our rescue through the Spirit. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” (Rom 8:11).
We don’t do this casually; we do it with a sense of awe and unworthiness. Therefore, all believers in heaven can say they have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7:14). Notice “made them white” meaning they have their former way of life, not just forgiven, but they have moved into a spiritual condition where they want to be like their Savior, “in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Tim 4:12), “with absolute purity” (1 Tim 5:2). This is the New Birth.
“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”
Psalms 91:14-16
Never Ever Turn Back to Our Old Nature
If we turn “back to the weak and miserable [worthless] forces” of worldly pleasures, we can be “enslaved by them all over again” (Gal 4:9). The real danger is placing ourselves back into the old line of Adam, with its separation from God. Sure, we believers do fall backwards, but less often, and for very short periods, as conviction of sin settles on us, and we turn to God for help. Because we are adopted by our New Father God. We have the greatest privilege and honor to carry the promises of God’s Son, “everyone who asks receives” (Matt 7:8) to our Father. What a privilege to be able to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16).
After a fall into an old habit, a born-again believer will have no desire to dwell there, in that fleeting pleasure—at all. Because it makes us miserable, and sad and brings darkness into our souls, an emptiness. We want to live a life like the Apostle John told his family of believers: “No one who is born of God [Born Again] will continue to sin, because God’s seed [His Spirit] remains in them; they cannot [willfully with determination] go on sinning, because they have been born of God” (1 John 3:9).
Sure, believers make mistakes. They are not sinless and never will be, because it is not of themselves that they despise sin, but it is the Spirit inside them, without the guest of the Spirit of God, they would still be a vile sinner. The “seed” is planted internally that makes us crave “to please God” (1 Thess 4:1), to do good, and “to please the Spirit” (Gal 6:8).
Even after a serious fall, we hate the sin we did, and it gives us pain, and regret with tears not pleasure.
Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.
Ps 51 NKJV
Since we who have “who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit” (Heb 6:4), and we who “have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Pet 2:3), we will “set our hearts on things above, were Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (Col 3:1). We will want to do this, we will daily strive to do this, not alone but moved along this path by the Holy Spirit, for “the Spirit helps us in our weakness” (Rom 8:26). The Spirit does not give us a list of rules, but instead gives us love for God and “we make it our goal to please him” (2 Cor 5:9) and “live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:10).
To protect us: God Anoints and Seals us as His Treasure
“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Cor 1:21,22). To be sealed means ownership, which was the purpose of a seal in ancient times.
This is a very sobering thought, to think of ourselves as being owned by God. Because we believe in His Son Jesus Christ, God gives us the Holy Spirit, also called “His Spirit who lives in you” (Rom 8:11). This privilege of being “sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30) is the result of believing in “the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation” (Eph 1:13).
To receive the Spirit, we don’t have to follow a favorite preacher or Gospel teacher. We don’t have to attend a particular meeting where we are promised to receive the Spirit. We are not called to speak in unknown languages any more than raise the dead first. To receive the Spirit is what God wants to give you “to put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” (Col 3:10).
What are His terms, believe the message of truth the gospel. Confess your sins and focus on Christ, his life, teaching, and that of His Apostles. “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Lk 11:13). Ask God for His Spirit to sanctify you. Know for sure God wants to give you His Spirit.
Teach me to do what pleases you, because you are my God.
Let your kind [good] Spirit lead me, so that I can walk in a safe place.
Your name is great, Lord, so please keep my life safe.
You do what is right, so bring me out of my troubles.
Ps 143:10,11 Easy English Bible
The Spirit Fights Our Flesh, or we Would be Adrift in Helplessness
Without being “Born of the Spirit” and having the Spirit give us new life. Which brings to us a strong desire to please God, to do good, and to love others. Without this change, we would be hopeless, helplessly adrift with constant spiritual failure. Our prayers would sound like this:
Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.
I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched.
My eyes fail, looking for my God.
Ps 69:1-3
After baptism by “the working of God” (Col 2:12), by “circumcision not performed by human hands” (Col 2:11). God creates a buffer zone in us. As if with a knife He cuts away controlling habits before they have a chance to take root in our lives. God separates us from our selfish pleasures and prideful desires, called the flesh, often without us knowing it.
The Spirit brings not just a knowledge of right and wrong, but a new power that is able to resist old patterns of sinful desires. A new presence that frees our natural inclination to follow our flesh, to a new natural inclination to follow our risen Christ by faith in love.
“So, I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want [your flesh wants]. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Rom 8:16-18).
To not be under the law is for the Law to not find you guilty and thus you do not fall under its condemnation. Since we are to be, “sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (Rom 15:16).
The Spirit plants its “fruits” (Gal 5:22) in opposition to the works of the flesh. “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Rom 8:13).
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 3:5 he [God Himself] saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal [daily regeneration] by the Holy Spirit, 3:6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior. 3:7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7
Focus on the Resurrection to Bring the Spirit into our Lives
As we focus on the cross, we find forgiveness of sin. As we focus on the resurrection, we receive the Spirit. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” (Rom 8:11).
Resurrection, illustrated by coming out of the water of baptism, is where we find the Spirit, because it was the Holy Spirit, with God and His Son, who raised Jesus from his tomb.
The Holy Spirit at Pentecost came after the resurrection. The Apostle Peter shares the same context in his general letter to all believers: “Praise be to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth [born of the Spirit] into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3,4).
John 3:6 [1st] Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the [2nd] Spirit gives birth to spirit. 3:7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ NIV
3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 3:7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ NKJV
“No one can see the kingdom of God” (3:3) and “No one can enter the kingdom of God” (3:5) NIV
“He cannot see the kingdom of God” (3:3) and “He cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (3:5) NKJV
Jesus teaches there is a distinction between physical birth and spiritual re-birth.
Being born a Jew or a Christian, attending Christian schools or being a baptized member of the church will not make one fit to see heaven. Why? Because there is a problem. Nobody can “see the kingdom of God, unless they are born again” (John 3:3), and “born of the Spirit” (John 3:6). Natural human birth cannot qualify us to enter heaven. It all started with Adam through whom “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all people, because all sinned” (Rom 5:12).
We need to be born into a new family line, made possible the by the gift of the Holy Spirit: “if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” (Rom 8:11).
Let’s reword the first part of this sentence: Flesh Gives Birth to Flesh
Human life comes from human parents, which include inherited tendencies to sin and a hopeless death. Parents can only give their fallen likeness to their children, even if the parents are personally born of the Spirit.
Let’s reword the second part of this sentence: Spirit gives birth to Spirit
The Holy Spirit alone can make it possible for us to “participate in the divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4). The Spirit is “God’s Spirit” (1 Cor 3:16); he brings an influence into our lives that is not from this world. Thus, the Holy Spirit alone can give us the Spirit. The Holy Spirit alone can influence our human spirit: “the Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Rom 8:16).
The Spirit gives Birth to the spirit
Being Born Again is only accomplished through the work of the Spirit. For we are “saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth” (2 Thess 2:13). The presence of the “Spirit” is a “gift” from God (Acts 2:38). “And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ” (Rom 8:9), because the Spirit and Christ are inseparable.
It means being “led by the Spirit” (Rom 8:14) and walking “in the same footsteps by the same Spirit?” (2 Cor 12:18) and letting the Spirit “teach you all things and will remind you of everything” (John 14:26) Jesus has taught.
This is what it means to be Spirit born. Only the Holy Spirit can give us the genuine experience of being born of the Spirit. No human being can claim to offer or give you the Holy Spirit. Only the Spirit can give us the “Spirit who is from God” (1 Cor 2:12). “This is how we know that we live in Him [God] and He [God] in us: He has given us of his Spirit” (1 John 4:13).
It is only through the Holy Spirit’s divine influence in our lives that the prophecy pointing to the work of Jesus is understood. “Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth” (Lk 3:5; Isa 40:3-5). The crooked thoughts and ideas that arise from our hearts by means of the Spirit, are made straight and loyal, according to the gospel.
Our sinful nature, this side of heaven, often will become twisted in an assault on our thoughts coming from our sinfulness. Only the “Spirit of God” can push these thoughts away and renew our thoughts toward peace and love. The Spirit can make our crooked thoughts straight. The Spirit will give us a clear picture of our twisted thoughts and plans—so we can confess them, and the Spirit can correct them.
The Flesh Gives Birth to Flesh
All human efforts at self-improvement, commandment keeping, paying tithe, or church attendance, without the New Birth, will fail. If one depends on these things to prepare them for heaven, without being Born of the Spirit, they will not succeed.
When we are Born Again of the Spirit, “all things become new” (2 Cor 5:17 NKJV). The Spirit changes our heart’s desires and our enjoyment of true goodness. We treasure and hold very dear the love of God, after having tasted it, we know that the “Lord is good” (Ps 34:8; 100:5; 135:3; 145:9; Lam 3:25; 1 Peter 2:3).
Jesus says the Spirit will stay with us “forever” (John 14:16); there is no time we can safely be absent from the Spirit. We need a governor over our fallen flesh, “mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God” (Rom 8:7); “the mind governed by the flesh is death” (Rom 8:6). Thank God, through being born again, born of the Spirit: “the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace” (Rom 8:6). For only by “the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Rom 8:13).
Now it is our privilege to ask the Father in the name of Jesus, to send the Spirit to set our minds on what the Spirit wants for us. To place a space in our hearts where the Spirit can take control. Over time we will see the Spirit’s influence on our thoughts and behaviors. We will know, without a shadow of doubt, that the changes that have occurred in our lives, come from God’s Spirit.
Be Careful Not to Grieve the Spirit
We must be careful “not to grieve the Holy Spirit” by “unwholesome talk” or by “bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (Eph 4:29-31). We must be careful in watching videos that feature swearing and cursing of God. Voluntarily listening to this spiteful language, and lustful behavior presented as normal. We tell you this will impact the Spirit dwelling inside you. This can grieve the Spirit, and in the process, you will lose the peace of God. Thankfully, the Spirit will return as we pray: “Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Ps 51:11).
When under assault by twisted thoughts, use the treasure of the Spirit’s presence to guard your life, your eyes, and your ears. For “The Spirit” God has given to us is one of “power, love and self-discipline” (2 Tim 1:7). This is just what is needed to defeat the enemy that lies within and without us. When we fail, the Spirit will bring us back again and again to teach us about our weaknesses and to make us strong in the Lord.
I love you, Lord; you are my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.
I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me from my enemies.
Ps 18:1-3 NLT
The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
He is their stronghold in time of trouble.
The Lord helps them and delivers them.
He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in Him.
Ps 37:39-40
John 3:8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. NIV
3:8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” NKJV
“No one can see the kingdom of God” (3:3) NIV
“No one can enter the kingdom of God” (3:5) NIV
“He cannot see the kingdom of God” (3:3) NKJV
“He cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (3:5) NKJV
The Wind…Can’t Tell Where It Comes from or Where it’s Going
Perhaps there was a quiet breeze blowing on Jesus as he was talking with Nicodemus. Jesus used this as an illustration to teach us lessons about the Spirit.
The wind has no boundaries; it is present globally. The wind stands for the wishes and actions of the Spirit that moves all over our wide world. In general terms, the Spirit moves in stealth mode, in contrast to Judaism. In ancient Judaism, everything had a physical presence, the temple, altars, and priesthood. Everything was based on a lunar calendar. The seven feast days of the year. It was animal based, where a physical lamb or ox was presented for atonement.
Now there is a new kind of worship. As Jesus told the woman at the well, “true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (John 4:23). This worship is not sanctuary based, as in a specific location in Jerusalem, where all are mandated to attend, bringing their tithes and offerings.
The Spirit has an unseen presence moving on a global, yet individual scale—changing us, teaching, reproving, judging and providing a place where God can be at “home” (John 14:23) in us. True worship is done with the Spirit’s presence and influence. This is a radical difference from the old way, which is very visual, and involves organized worship, led only by male Levites.
The Spirit Moves on All, like a “wind”
It is personal, just as each person feels the force of the wind, even if others are around us. It is beyond the intellect, past human reason. It cannot be controlled by any individuals or organizations. The Spirit does not come to our request or demand. When the Spirit comes, he comes on his own terms, like the wind.
We can’t see the Spirit coming to us or where he is moving next. The “fruits of the Spirit” (Gal 5:22) are placed in our hearts, where we want to be kind and patient. We find a new element inside us so that we want to do good for others. We know God has “chosen” us and we are “dearly loved” children of God. Thus, we want to clothe ourselves with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience…” (Col 3:12-15).
The Spirit will show how we can make a difference in the lives of others. We become aware of the love and grace of God on a personal level. We can’t tell when this started; it just happened, sometimes for an hour or over several days. We are never the same after that event, we find a new love for God, for His word and love for others.
The Spirit moves upon our desires, like the wind. The Spirit’s presence will give us a real sense that something is different in our feelings and our heart’s desires, giving us a new od-centered love, “because God is love” (1 John 4:8).
We Can Have the “the mind of the Spirit” (Rom 8:27)
The Spirit can give us instruction, as when Paul and his team were “kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia” (Acts 16:6). The Spirit can be “grieved” (Eph 4:30) and “lied” to (Acts 5:3).
Yet we want to be very careful that we don’t go beyond what the Scriptures say, in declaring rigid absolute descriptions, how and when the Spirit comes to be with us. The Spirit is called:
“God’s Spirit;” (1 Cor 3:16);
“Spirit who is from God” (1 Cor 2:12);
“Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:11)
“The Holy Spirit of God” (Acts 4:30).
Since “no one has ever seen God” (John 1:18), neither can we see the Spirit that comes from God, just as no one can see the wind. The Spirit brings God’s wisdom into our lives. As Paul prayed, “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives” (Col 1:9).
Since Jesus said, “God is Spirit” (John 4:24), then it can be said that God is not a person, created from dust, as Adam and Eve were. It follows to reason that the Holy Spirit, whose name is Spirit, is not what we would consider a person; in the same way as Jesus was born as a person from his mother.
But really, none of this is worth arguing over; there is much we don’t know or understand, and it would be wise to acknowledge it. It is far better to dwell on the ministry of the Spirit, being Born Again of the Spirit, as Jesus has taught us, then debating the nature of the Spirit.
The Spirit is unique, being able to live in millions of born-again believers all at the same time. Although there are millions that are being influenced by the Spirit, there is just “one Spirit” (Eph 2:18; 4:4). The Spirit is without a physical presence; we cannot see the Spirit, as Jesus taught us “the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him” (John 14:17).
In some mysterious way, although we cannot see the Spirit, we come to know that the Spirit will always lead us to God and his Son. A false spirit or “a different spirit from the Spirit you received” (2 Cor 11:4) will wish believers to accept things not taught by God or his Son. Such spirits will try to keep the attention of those who listen to them on themselves, their ideas, their experiences rather than on Christ. They “preach Christ out of selfish ambition” (Phil 1:17)—meaning everything is about themselves, leaving little room for the ministry of the Spirit.
The Wind Blows where it Pleases.
The wind does what it wishes to do, so does the Spirit follow His own wishes. No one can tell the wind to change directions or stop blowing! In an open letter the disciples sent to the Gentile Christians, they supported their advice by affirming that they had the Spirit’s approval: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 15:28).
The Spirit is independent of education or position of trust in the church or in the community. We cannot control the Spirit’s presence. We cannot command or demand the Spirit to come; it is not our call. We cannot give directions to the Spirit. We cannot make an image or build a building for the Spirit to be present. There are no ethnic or national boundaries for the Spirit. The Spirit moves across the borders unseen. Most often the Spirit is sweetly present in the humble man or woman whom many pass by without acknowledgment. The Spirit is not present in those who seeks to draw attention to themselves, so as to appear great in the eyes of others.
“The gifts on an altar that God wants are a broken spirit. O God, You will not hate a broken heart and a heart with no pride.” (Ps 15:17 New Live Version)
“For this is what the high and exalted One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. (Isa 17:15,16)
Even though we can’t see the wind, we can feel its effects and know that it is true, and it can’t be denied. The movement of the Spirit is something that can be known by personal experience, you will feel its presence. As the wind is real, so is the Spirit that moves on us, like the wind that affects our whole body, we are Born Again.
As Paul’s beautiful prayer in Ephesians, Paul wanted God, “out of His glorious riches, to strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being” so that we will become “rooted and established in love” (Eph 3:16,17). This is the work of the Spirit: to root our hearts in love for God, for Christ and for those in fellowship with Christ.
Such was the experience on the Day of Pentecost. “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:1,2). It was the sound of the wind, not the wind velocity itself. The sound produced the presence of the Spirit, with a profound life changing effect on them, bringing them gifts of the Spirit. They enjoy “peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17). As Jesus said, “But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:17).
Today, after Pentecost the sound we hear of the Holy Spirit’s presence is praise and joy. “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth…” (Lk 10:21).
We still reap the benefits of the Sound of the Wind
from Pentecost
The Spirit came as a wind at Pentecost, to give new gifts that were needed to support the spread of the gospel. After Pentecost, the sound, the wind of the Spirit, is heard in changed lives. This is how we know the Spirit is moving in our lives, blowing on us, as has Jesus explained in John 14-16 about the nature and function and receiving of the Spirit, after Pentecost.
“Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5).
“And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52).
“God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Rom 5:5).
"If by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Rom 8:13).
“Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17).
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness…” (Gal 5:22,23).
“God sent the Spirit … who calls out, “Abba, Father.” (Gal 4:6).
“Through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith, righteousness for which we hope” (Gal 5:5).
“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18).
Two Ways to Prepare Ourselves to Receive the Spirit
The First Way to prepare yourself to receive the Spirit, is to read and study Scriptures to grow your faith, because “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17 NAS).
Be careful not to spend too much time on media or sermons. Often, they contain only fragments of the gospel. Instead, open and study the New Testament and the Psalms for yourself.
Take the teaching of Jesus and his Apostles very seriously. “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7; 14:24; 17:18). Then claim this promise from Jesus with faith: “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13). Ask our Lord Jesus to ask the Father to send you the Spirit, to receive or to renew the Spirits presence to influence our lives.
The Second Way to be open to receive the Spirit, is being “poor in spirit” for only the humble will receive “the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt 5:3).
When we come empty handed to God in prayer, acknowledging our spiritual poverty. We recognize that we have nothing to give and no work to perform in order to gain the favor of heaven.
Except, if we are dwelling in darkness of hate or ill-will toward another, we must confess this. We must ask God to send the Spirit to remove the stains of degrading or abusing another.
Only to those who recognize their spiritual poverty before God, the kingdom of heaven is given. The presence of the Spirit in our lives is always accompanied by deep humility and a steady focus on New Testament Scriptures. This is true worship.
The Spirit will show us, if we listen, our times of pride, selfishness, stubbornness, self-centeredness and our poverty in the currency of love for God and others. Yes, the Spirit will show us, reveal to us what hindrances we maintain that prevent the Spirit from indwelling in us. If we are stubborn and don’t want to acknowledge our pride. The Spirit will try again and again to arouse us from our certain spiritual death, “for God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (James 4:6).
"In my alarm I said, 'I am cut off from your sight!' Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. Love the Lord, all his faithful people! The Lord preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord." Ps 31:22-24
More on the Spirit: Ephesians 1:13-17; 3:14-21; 4:29-31
More on the Spirit: 1 John 2:20,27; 3:23-24; 4:12-13
More on the Spirit: Colossians 1:7-9
The End of John 3:1-8
Written by: Brothers & Sisters in Scripture Fellowship